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The Legend of the Jewish Samurai

Submitted by RaoulTGIF on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 15:19

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

Yesterday I saw my
grandson pedaling his dinky tricycle for the first time. His little red
wheels could only move him so far despite the brisk efforts of his tiny
legs. He was trying to catch up with the bigger neighborhood kids whizzing
by with their scooters. "Come on let's go!" he shouted
in baby talk --- mimicking his older gang-mates. It was a very
cute site. (That's probably how I looked eons ago when my brother and
I steered our own tricycle.) My, how fast he has grown. Pretty soon he'll
be playing basketball, riding motorcycles, falling in love, getting married
and having grand kids of his own. Sunrise, sunset ... you watch them in
movies ... but I tell you, it hits you differently when the story is your
own.

In contrast, this
morning I went to a business meeting where they showed a short movie about
a 90 year old woman contemplating a transfer to a senior facility.
"I want to go because I don't want to be a burden" she said.
Translation: "I want to stay and be with family but I don't want
people to worry or disrupt their schedule for me. I'd rather suffer than
have them suffer." One day I know her story will be my story
as well.
I see the same dynamics in my own parents. I want to care for them but
life has its complexities.
In the past 24 hours I have seen my past and my future. What one accomplishes
between the two points determines one's legacy. So how does one measure
a successful life? A popular Broadway song offers a suggestion:525,600
minutes.* How do you measure, a year
in the life? In daylights? in sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee?
In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife? In five hundred twenty five
thousand six hundred minutes? How about love? Measure in love.[From the play RENT]

Wisdom
from Debbie
of Moreno Valley, CA

You don't have to be great to start,
but you have to start to be great.

Thanks
to this week's winners:
Tom and Art of Pasadena; Mike, Audrey and Charlie of New York;
Don of Kelowna; John of Palos Verdes; Jeff and Norm or Arcadia;
Naomi of N Hollywood; Janette of Hong Kong; Debbie of Moreno Valley.

[*
BTW, in case you're wondering, I didn't particularly like the
play or the movie but I did like this one song].

The
Legend of the Jewish Samurai:
A Man for Our TimeSent
by Jeff of Arcadia, CA

Once upon a time,
a powerful Emperor of the Rising Sun advertised for a new Chief Samurai.
After a year, only three applied for the job: a Japanese, a Chinese, and
a Jewish Samurai.

"Demonstrate
your skills!" commanded the Emperor.

The Japanese samurai
stepped forward, opened a tiny box, and released a fly. He drew his samurai
sword and *Zinnnnnng!* the fly fell to the floor, neatly divided in two!

"What a feat!"
said the Emperor. "Number Two Samurai, show me what you do."

The Chinese samurai
smiled confidently, stepped forward and opened a tiny box, releasing a
fly. He drew his samurai sword and * Swoosh! * Swooosh! * The fly fell
to the floor neatly quartered.

"That is skill!"
nodded the Emperor. "How are you going to top that, Number three
Samurai?"

The Jewish samurai,
Obi-wan Cohen, stepped forward, opened a tiny box releasing one
fly, drew his samurai sword and *Voooom! * flourished his sword so mightily
that a gust of wind blew through the room. But the fly was still buzzing
around! In disappointment, the Emperor said, "What kind of skill
is that? The fly isn't even dead."

"Dead?"
replied the Jewish Samurai. Dead is easy ~ but circumcised?"

It
Happened in ShulSent
by Norm of Arcadia, CA(A little Jewish humor: You may not understand some of the
terms but like me, I hope you get it)

A Rabbi
approaches a guest in Shul and says,
"I'd like to give you an Aliyah. What is your name?"

The man
answers, "Esther ben Moshe."

The Rabbi
says, "No, I need YOUR name."

"It's
Esther ben Moshe," the man says.

"But
that's a woman's name! How can that be your name?" asks the Rabbi.

The man
answers, "I've been having financial problems with the IRS, so
everything now is in my wife's name."

Videos of the week: (click on the picture)

Brass
Band Multi-taskerContributed
by Naomi of North Hollywood, CA

I didn't think this was possible but this guy actually multi-tasks
different intruments. He does it with a disinterested flair. Funny
and impressive.

Ocean
Diving in 3DContributed
by Charlie of New York

Tomorrow is the weekend. Wouldn't you like to be
somewhere in the tropics? When I grew up I visited my grandmother
who had a beach property and I saw many of these underwater delights
for a whole summer. I have such happy childhood memories.

The
Makeover Contributed
by Tom of Pasadena, CA and Mike of New York

High quality video of a man who takes great pain to return to his
youth and the fun he has with his total makeover.

Young
Japanese RockerContributed
by Audrey of New York

Ellen de Genres is known for "discovering" amazing talent.
Here she brings a young Japanese electric guitar prodigy to her
show for a second appearance. All my years of guitar practice never
amounted anywhere close to this. He's amazing.

Did
You Know?Contributed
by Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Intriguing video of the ever changing world around us. If you like
trivia, start taking notes because the research in this clip covers
a lot of topics. I do wonder how accurate the facts are. Remember
what they say ... 56.36% of trivia is made right on the spot.

Rabbit
Competition Contributed
by Art of Pasadena, CA

I know there's chunk of you who adore animals. This video should
fill your need for that animal connection. Enjoy!

A
Mini Cooper Olympic ConcertContributed
by John of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

John's a Brit who enjoyed this commercial that hailed his heritage.
It was made for the recent Olympic games.

Speed
Dating Contributed
by Janette from Hong Kong

Last week's video of the unsuspecting car salesman reminded Janette
of this video and she was kind enough to share it with all of us.
TGIF! Remember, to turn your clocks forward one hour if you observe
DST.

Great selection and words of Wisdom! A Deacon at Mass said. " have a James Brown Day" at the conclusion of the Service and so I looked him up and he was a popular Singer with some very up Lyrics! A sense of Gratitude is the proper attitude for this Lenten Season!